Since Steven Hauschka is still a FA, I was thinking about maybe Seattle extending a contract to Hanson. I know that he played nearby at Washington State, and maybe that would help draw him back to the West Coast. Though he is in his mid-40s, he can still boom it (16-19 from 40-49, and 2-3 from 50+). He is a bit more consistent than Hauschka was from deep, though to be fair, he also played indoors. His touchback numbers are about the same as Hauschka's as well. He also doesn't line-drive his XPAT kicks as Hauschka is sometimes wont to do.

Hanson is in his mid-40s, but he is still booming it. Maybe he would want to play here to get a ring and something like 2/3.5M would entice him to do so?

I like Hauschka as a kicker and all, but this might be one of my favorite low-key signings if Seattle can get it done. Just a thought.

Jason Hanson has been kicking since just after Moses got to the promised land. lol

I think he has spent his entire career there and is among the leaders in kicking points. But I'd be a bit skeptical of having him come on board. But then again George Blanda did it effectively until about age 50 so anything is possible.

volsunghawk wrote:Why would we pay Hanson when we can sign a rookie or go with Wiggs for a fraction of the cost?

Personally, I like kickers that I know I can count on. Hanson being comparatively prodigious throughout his career from long-range is a plus (better than Hauschka from 50+, percentage-wise). If Seattle can get him for under 2M a year, I'd much rather roll with him than Carson Wiggs. I'd hate for a Wiggs miss or two to be the difference between HFA and going on the road in the Wild Card round. These are my tastes here, and obviously if the Seahawks FA evaluates Wiggs or a UFA kicker differently, I will trust in them.

volsunghawk wrote:Why would we pay Hanson when we can sign a rookie or go with Wiggs for a fraction of the cost?

Personally, I like kickers that I know I can count on. Hanson being comparatively prodigious throughout his career from long-range is a plus (better than Hauschka from 50+, percentage-wise). If Seattle can get him for under 2M a year, I'd much rather roll with him than Carson Wiggs. I'd hate for a Wiggs miss or two to be the difference between HFA and going on the road in the Wild Card round. These are my tastes here, and obviously if the Seahawks FA evaluates Wiggs or a UFA kicker differently, I will trust in them.

I'm of the opinion that if you trust that a kicker can give you 80-85% accuracy overall and hit about half from 50+, and put the ball in the end zone with regularity on kickoffs, then that's a kicker you can count on. If you look at the careers of most kickers in the league, that's about what you get for the most part. There's very little difference between them. And if the team thinks Wiggs can give them that, then I'd rather they give him 500k a year rather than giving Hanson 1.5M per year.

I guess what I'm saying is that I don't believe there's really any difference between NFL-caliber kickers, and that there is an abundance of guys available for cheap - saving you money you can spend on more important positions (like just about all of them).

2012: Set a new NCAA career scoring record for kickers (466 points)...established new NCAA, ACC and FSU records with 88 career field goals...his 88th career field goal in the Orange Bowl win over Northern Illinois pushed him past Georgia's Billy Bennett (87, 2000-03)

Posted 140 points to set a new ACC all-time single season scoring mark

Single-handedly outscored five of FSU's opponents this season

ACC scoring leader among kickers with 10.0 ppg

Kicked a career-best 56 yard field goal against Duke

Converted all five of six field goal attempts of 50+ yards

Made over 93 percent of his combined kicks (PAT and FG's 290- 319)

Became the Seminoles' all-time leader with 290 career kicks made (202 PAT's and 88 FG's)

One thing about SF's new kicker, read somewhere, PFF I think, that his kickoffs are mediocre, something that Percy Harvin will love!

I want to hear them talk about the key traits of what's needed to be an excellent, clutch kicker. I want to know who their prototype kicker is. Something tells me they're just looking for a random, reliable guy.